Blog Response

I went to Instapundit to check out Glenn Reynolds' blog because it was mentioned in one of the readings. I found it fascinating that two hours after the State of the Union was given, Reynolds had already posted a comment, his choice for President Bush's best quote of the night.

"Others have said they would personally be happy to pay higher taxes. I welcome their enthusiasm, and I am pleased to report that the IRS accepts both checks and money orders."--taken from Instapundit, originally said by President Bush

Not only was this fascinating, but he already had four responses to that one simple post. Four responses in two hours; wouldn't we as journalists like to have that kind of response and feedback? When was the last time we ran a story in the paper and within two hours we already had four people calling to say thanks or they agreed? I know this subject matter is not of the utmost urgency, it is just a quick comment about what was said in the State of the Union. But the implications are far greater. There has already been a conversation started out there.

Beyond this, there was a link directly to a YouTube video of Sen. DeMint giving the Conservative Response to the State of the Union. As soon as you clicked on "Conservative Response," it takes you to the video and you can watch the entire speech right there. Journalism is changing! No question!

This blog had something like 8 posts within the 10:00 p.m. hour, all by Reynolds. His passion and dedication for communicating with his readers is impressive! The timing of this blog and the diversity of the subjects discussed make it an easy outlet for people to rely on and use for their information source. Not everything one needs to know is going to be on this blog of course, but it is somewhere that offers the reader the chance to respond and engage in "news."

I didn't really understand why all of Reynold's posts were about one sentence. Maybe he is trying to invoke conversation more than put his opinion out there. I'm not sure, but I would say that is my biggest criticism. For something to be a blog, I would think it had to incorporate more than one sentence.

This blog definitely showed me a lot about blogging that I didn't realize before. It's speediness and humanistic tone really do appeal to today's world. The ability of a blog to connect with so many other resources eletronically in seconds that were virtually impossible to have access too just years ago is a great quality. I don't think it will replace journalism as we know it, but definitely change it, as most people have already begun to realize.